Weight Loss

It is estimated that in the United States today, nearly 93 million people are suffering from obesity and at least two thirds of our society is either obese or overweight. The obesity numbers have actually doubled in the last 20 years or so.

While these statistics may seem eye-popping to you, it really should come as no surprise. If you watch any TV at all or follow mainstream media, you are bombarded by ads of fast foods, soft drinks, alcoholic beverages and an array of many other salty and sweet treats. We all know these are billion dollar industries just doing what they do best, and that is selling their product. With the advent of processed foods nearly one hundred years ago, our country has been on a steady decline ever since.

Most people with common sense are cognizant of this and realize that being overweight or obese cannot only affect their overall health and well being but relationships, job status, insurance costs and even our national security.

It seems that everybody from Suzanne Somers to L.L. Cool J has fed off this frenzy of marketing their own special diets that line up Barnes & Noble shelves. But it appears that most of these diets are missing the point. As I have mentioned in previous sections, we seem to get caught up in the frenzy that has us only focusing on calories or fat intake or sugarless items. While these are certainly important, the point being missed a lot of the time is that the majority of foods in our grocery stores (including most diet products) are processed. This means that it is a man made food and there is no way your body can properly metabolize or digest it.

It is actually entertaining to me (I need a life) to look at front of packages that claim "whole grain", "fat free", "reduced sugar" or "no trans fats" only to find that the product is filled with lovely ingredients like high fructose corn syrup or partially hydrogenated fats or the ever so common soybean oil, soy lecithin or soy protein isolate (If you are unsure why these soy products are not advised, read the Soy section).

The epidemic in today's society is largely caused by the deception of food manufacturers and corporate America attempting to sell their billion dollar product. For many people, even though they are valiantly trying to eat better, they are just supplanting one problem with another one. This is where most people need help in trying to determine what's right or wrong for them when it comes down to eating foods.

When you become a member of our Weight Loss Program, you will undergo a 6 month long journey that, if strictly followed, is sure to change your life.

To break down our program, we start with:

Month 1:

Initial dietary consultation: We will be discussing, your regular dietary habits at length and begin the process of eliminating some key items. We will also discuss your overall health and any conditions that you may be facing. This will lay the groundwork in preparation for your detox/cleanse program.

Fitness assessment: Here we will determine weight, measurements, vital signs and strength capacity testing to try and determine solid starting points for your exercise program. Everybody is different and their needs different, so there are various starting points for each of us.

Stretching/Strengthening: This is where the fun begins! After obtaining data from our assessment, we start the process to become leaner, firmer and more tone. Frequency depends, but usually 3 days per week is adequate to begin.

Mandatory lecture: Why do we say mandatory? Because in this 75 minute talk, we will cover the essentials of what you will be going through in the next six months. From dietary habits to detoxification to the exercise regimen you will undergo, this will hopefully answer most of your questions that you have about the program

Ongoing Counseling: This includes dietary and fitness counseling. Studies have shown that people who have a personal coach or mentor following them through phases of their weight loss program, consistently lose more weight and more importantly, tend to keep the weight off! There are many diets out there and some of them do work. Many of you may have done certain diets and got positive results but the key is -did the pounds stay off. We know it as "yo-yo" dieting because our weight is constantly going down or up. Ultimately, we know that this is not going to work for us and the emotional roller coaster can often send us into a state of depression.

For six months, we are with you every step of the way. From the face to face exercise and stretching sessions to e-mail's, phone calls or even texting (I'm mainstream, baby!).

Going through this type of program will bring lots of questions and concerns and this is why you will have constant access to me. As you go through the program, you will find out why this is so valuable.

Month 2:

Fitness Assessment: At the beginning of each month, we will do the fitness assessment for comparison purposes to the preceding months. Finding out where your strengths and weaknesses will help us determine what has been working and what hasn't been working. We will also be checking weight, performing measurements and vital signs.

Stretching/Strengthening: We continue this obviously very important part of the program, incorporating new stretches and exercises, hopefully increasing frequency and repetitions to your routine.

60 Day Detoxification: At this point, we have been preparing you well for this major transition. For the next two months, your body will more than likely be going through something it hasn't experienced before. For some people, the first couple of weeks are the most difficult because of the withdrawal that your body is experiencing. Sounds funny, but this is actually a good sign. It means your body is accepting what you are feeding it and not feeding it and it's going to let you know. Doing exercises while you are light-headed or your colon is cleansing may be challenging but that is the exact reason why we are here, to determine what the body needs next.

Yoga/Meditation Workshop: Ok, you been fine with the exercise, kind of "iffy" on the detox program and now were getting new age on you? That's right, this is an introductory class to yoga and meditation to discover how and why these two techniques have been proven to help with weight loss. It will then be up to you whether or not you would like to continue on with them as part of your program.

Ongoing Counseling: See above

Month 3:

Fitness Assessment: See above

Continue Stretching/Strengthening: See above

Continue 60 Day Detoxification: You will now be in the second phase of your detoxification program. For some, this could be a make or break time. By now, you should have already bypassed the withdrawal symptoms (although it varies for some) and now just dealing with the cleansing of your colon. For the most part, you should be feeling some physical changes by now and very much acclimated to your regular diet. For most, going back to the old diet is not even an afterthought because of the positive changes that your body is experiencing.

Ongoing Counseling: See above

Months 4, 5 & 6

Fitness Assessment: See above

Continue Stretching/Strengthening: The only difference in the final 3 months is that the frequency that you see me usually decreases. Does this mean that you will be exercising less? Definitely not, because you will now be doing a lot of what we taught you in the beginning on your own. This will include the stretching and core exercises as well as any cardiovascular exercise that you will be incorporating in.

Diet Analysis: After coming off the detoxification program, your body will look and feel different. The problem with most weight loss programs is the tendency to re-gain the weight back. For the next 3 months, we will be assisting you in an effort to maintain this healthy lifestyle. This will include analysis of your meals, caloric intake, supplement options and much more.

Ongoing Counseling: See above

At the end of your program, I will just assume that this is the lifestyle that you want to continue enjoying. Real & whole foods, healthy exercise, and a positive outlook on the future-really, how can you go wrong? You accomplished something the right way! No magic powders or fancy packages of processed diet meals, no blood types-just sticking with the basics. Remember, the basics are that if you can digest it properly than it is usually something that you want. If it is non-digestible, forget it! I don't care how many calories, how sugarless or fat free it is- your body cannot break it down and this is what will lead you to be just another statistic in the ongoing crisis of obesity and diabetes in our society.